Mashed Sweet Potato Brulée

Sweet potatoes are an absolute staple at most Thanksgiving tables, but some of the traditional sweet potato dishes just don’t do it for me. Especially that one with the canned yams and marshmallows? Blech. Can’t stomach it. I do like mashed sweet potatoes, but when you have traditional white mashed potatoes, sometimes you want to change things up a little bit. This recipe is a perfect hybrid of a classic dish with a bit of an easy, upbeat twist. Mashed sweet potatoes are spread in a gratin dish, topped with chopped walnuts and baked, and then sprinkled with brown sugar and placed under the broiler quickly to get a sweet, crackly crust reminiscent of some of the best crème brulée.

This is a great side dish for Thanksgiving, especially because you can make the potatoes ahead of time (even the day before), then just give them a quick zap in the microwave to heat them up, mash them with the butter, season and then throw into the oven. The bake time is super short, so you could pop it in the oven as soon as the turkey comes out and you’re carving.

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away! On Monday and Tuesday you’ll find recipes for some great (and different!) rolls and a traditional stuffing. Then make sure you check back next Friday for a great recipe to use up a lot of your leftovers!

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a gratin dish (or shallow baking dish) with some of the butter.

2. Heat the potatoes if necessary and mash them with the butter, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Put the sweet potatoes in the gratin dish, and smooth the top.

3. Sprinkle the top with the chopped walnuts. Bake until the dish is hot and golden on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Remove the dish from the oven. Sprinkle the top evenly with the brown sugar. Turn on the broiler and adjust the rack to about 4 inches from the heat source. Broil, watching carefully and turning the dish as necessary. When the sugar bubbles and browns, it's ready. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

I love the twist on the traditional sweet potato casserole. It is so hard to do anything but the classics on Thanksgiving without people throwing a hissy fit. I think that it is close enough to the original that people will like it. I found my side dish!

I would just like to thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it today to serve to my guests on Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! It was so easy to make and so delicious. This will be permanently replacing my sweet potato casserole. Thanks again and happy Turkey Day!

Hi Nicole, I have never used canned sweet potatoes but I think as long as it doesn’t include any other seasonings or anything they should work out okay. Regular brown sugar is light brown sugar, I just put “light” in there to differentiate from dark brown sugar, which contains more molasses.

This is VERY similar to the Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe I grew up with…mash baked/boiled or canned sweet potatoes and mix with butter, eggs, vanilla, sugar milk then spread it all in a dish…then, and here’s MY sweet potato casserole tip, I put the casserole in the fridge for a while to allow it to firm up some. It really makes getting the topping spread on much much easier. The topping is a mix of chopped pecans (Southern girl here!), flour, butter and brown sugar and it’s spread or “plopped” on top. It makes a crispy crunchy sweet and salty bubbly amazingness over the light and fluffy sweet potatoes. Everytime there’s a potluck or family meal I’m asked to make this and many times it’s eaten as dessert instead of the side dish!

Have you ever encountered a glass oven dish that cracks under the broiler. For those using Pyrex covers or dishes the risk of breaking could be a problem. I try not to even put the dish into the oven until the preheat is completed. Corningwear apparently does not have this problem.